Final bills for IBAC tabled Parliament

The final legislation for Victoria's promised anti-corruption commission is being introduced into State Parliament today.

The Integrity and Accountability Bill and the Protected Disclosure Bill will give Victoria's long-awaited Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) its powers and scrap the Office of Police Integrity.

The Premier, Ted Baillieu, says it is a historic reform.

"This is the culmination, the drawing together of extensive and far-reaching reforms of the integrity system," he said.

"The two bodies today will conclude the substantial components of the integrity reform."

But the Government has been attacked for the time taken to establish the anti-corruption commission.

The Coalition had promised the overhaul would be complete 18 months ago and it still has not appointed a permanent commissioner to head the integrity body.

The acting commissioner, Ron Bonighton, will finish at the end of the year.

But the minister responsible for establishing the commission, Andrew McIntosh, refused to say when a permanent head will be announced.

"We will be making an announcement in relation to the commissioner at the appropriate time," he said.

"The Government has repeatedly stated that we're taking the time to get our approach to integrity measures in this state correct.

"It's a staged approach to implementation."

Powers of investigation

The State Opposition has raised concerns the anti-corruption body will not have sufficient powers to investigate the public sector.

Labor MP Jill Hennessey says the watchdog is already compromised because it does not have the power to investigate misconduct in public office.

"The Government promised an IBAC that would be based on the New South Wales ICAC," she said.

"The Government have attempted to deliver an IBAC that is so limited in scope, it is highly unlikely that integrity in the public sector is Victoria is going to be significantly improved."

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews says many experts in the field of integrity have identified issues with the legislation.

"I think there are significant concerns, one of which is whether misconduct in public office, whether that would be covered," he said.

"Whether things like the sort of behaviour that Geoff Shaw got up to, whether that would be covered."

The Liberal MP for Frankston was found by the ombudsman to have misused his taxpayer-funded car and petrol card for his private business.

The Government says IBAC will have the power to investigate anyone in the public sector, including the Premier, the Governor and judiciary.

One obstacle in establishing the commission was the difficulty in securing the permission to tap phones.

The State Government has to apply to the Commonwealth for permission to grant those powers, but Mr McIntosh says the legislation has to be passed first.

The proposed laws would also replace the Whistleblowers Protection Act and downgrade the roles of the ombudsman and auditor-general.

Under the new regime they will refer serious allegations to the IBAC.

The minister has been questioned about whether the bar for the matters IBAC will investigate has been set too high.

But Mr McIntosh says there are other integrity bodies to handle less serious issues.

"IBAC should be, with all its serious powers, concentrating on serious corrupt conduct."

"There are other integrity bodies, namely of course the ombudsman that can do perhaps lower level matters and has the power to do that."

The State Ombudsman will now have to answer to a parliamentary committee, but the Government denies this shows a lack of faith in the office.

Mr McIntosh says the legislation means bodies with serious powers will be subjected to strong oversight.

"It extends the powers of the Victorian Inspectorate to provide oversight of the chief examiner, the ombudsman, the auditor-general, including the use of their extensive coercive powers," he said.

"It adds new procedural fairness requirements to the operation of the ombudsman and the auditor-general and provide for oversight of the ombudsman by a joint-house parliamentary committee, the Accountability and Oversight Committee."

The commission should be operational by the end of the year, but there are few sitting days remaining for the legislation to be considered and passed.

Mr McIntosh says there will be a transition from the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) to IBAC and the state will not be without an integrity body.